Kazakhstan for Teens: Silk Roads, Skylines, and Stories Untold

You land in the capital. The sky feels bigger here – blue, immense. The air is crisper than what you’re used to.

After lunch, you’ll walk through Khan Shatyr; it’s part shopping mall, part spaceship. Then cross into Lovers Park. True romantic love isn’t required; it’s a place where families stroll and fountains shine.

Baiterek Tower stands tall in the city center. At the top, you’ll see Astana’s strange symmetry from above.

Later, you’ll ride a mini bus to visit the Hazrat Sultan Mosque and the National Museum. Two nights in a nearby hotel.

Dinner on foot, under cool spring skies.

After breakfast, a long ride south. The land is flat and open. There’s not much to see, and somehow, it’s still a lot.

Karaganda grew as a mining city. Its most powerful stories live in the Karlag Museum, once the site of a Soviet labor camp. There, you’ll see photos, letters, and belongings from people who were imprisoned. It’s a hard visit. It should be.

On the way back, we’ll stop for coffee. Even “I’m Restaurant” (formerly known as McDonald’s) can feel familiar after a heavy afternoon. Dinner along the road. Return to Astana by night.

A short mid-morning flight takes you to Almaty; it’s a city at the foot of the mountains. We’ll check into a hotel downtown, or a quieter homestay nearby, depending on the size of the group.

Ride the cable car up Kok-Tobe Hill. From the top, you’ll see green trees below and snowy peaks beyond.

In the afternoon, visit the Sunkar Raptor Center. Watch falcons and eagles in flight. This is an old tradition here.

Dinner back in the city. Hot tea. Lagman noodles. They’re delicious.

Today’s drive follows part of the old Silk Road. In Zharkent, you’ll taste Uyghur food and visit a mosque, a Buddhist temple, and a sacred tree. They are reminders that this region has always been a crossroads, the melting pot before melting pot was a term.

On the way back, you’ll stop in a forest to look for wild apples. These are ancestors of every apple you’ve ever eaten. Almaty is the city of apples, and they traveled down this ancient road like almost everything else.

Start slowly. Visit the pastel-colored Ascension Cathedral, then walk through Guards Park. At the Green Bazaar, you’ll hear vendors calling out prices. You can try samsa, kebabs, or horse milk, if you’re feeling bold. Try to haggle. You’ll lose and you’ll enjoy it.

In the afternoon, visit the Golden Man at the Esik Museum; he’s a warrior buried in gold, the equivalent of King Tut but with far less fanfare.

Then stop by an orchard to see where apples are grown today.

Dinner in Esik. Then return to Almaty under a quiet sky.

Take the cable car to Shymbulak, Almaty’s mountain resort. The air changes as you go up. It’s colder and sharper up there. Pack for a picnic on the hill, just like the locals. Spend the afternoon walking through alpine trails.

This is a different Kazakhstan. Still. Crisp with peaks that feel close and far at the same time.

Dinner back in the city. Khachapuri, grilled meat, something sweet.

One last breakfast. Maybe one last walk. Then it’s time to go.

You’ll leave with the dust of the steppe on your shoes and the spirit of the Kazakh people in your heart.

Kazakhstan stays with you. Not loud. But steady.